The present invention relates to an automatic processing system for photographic use wherein a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is processed.
In photographic processing of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, a combination of steps of employing processing solutions having one or not less than two of functions of developing, fixing and washing for black and white light-sensitive materials, or of functions of color developing, bleach-fixing (or bleaching, fixing), washing and stabilizing for color light-sensitive materials is used. In the photographic processing wherein a large volume of light-sensitive materials are processed, there is provided a means for keeping the capability of processing solutions constant by maintaining components of processing solutions constant in the method to replenish components consumed during processing and to remove components which disolve out to processing solutions or condensed through evaporation during processing (for example, bromide ion in developer, silver complex salt in fixing solution). For the above-mentioned replenishment, replenisher is replenished in a processing solution and a part of processing solutions is wasted for removing condensed components in photographic processing.
In an automatic processor, photographic light-sensitive materials are processed by processing solutions in processing tanks, and processing solutions exhausted during processing are restored by processing agents for replenishment added thereto for continuous photographic processing. In this case, a capacity of a replenisher tank affects the capability of the automatic processor, and for improving processing capability, a capacity of the replenisher tank needs to be increased and replenisher tanks need to be replaced frequently, which is one of the causes for impairing easy maintenance.
Waste liquids of photographic processing solutions have been guided from processing tanks through waste liquid pipes, and have been dumped into sewerages or the like after being diluted by waste liquid of washing water and by cooling water for the automatic processor. Due to recent strict regulations for environmental pollution, however, dumping of waste liquids of photographic processing solutions other than those mentioned above, such as those of, for example, developer, fixer, color developer, bleach and fix (or bleaching solution, fixer) and stabilizer is substantially prohibited. Further, the invention relates to an evaporation and concentration processor for water solution such as, for example, waste liquid in photographic processing for silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials and a treating method for treating waste liquid in photographic processing wherein the evaporator/distillator processor is used.
With regard to an amount of a replenisher including washing water that is a replenisher for water washing, a system wherein an amount of a replenisher has been reduced remarkably for the reasons of environmental pollution and economy is becoming popular recently. Photo-finishing laboratories are now having their waste liquids collected by a special waste liquid disposal company, paying it a collection fee, or are installing waste-treatment facilities. In order to entrust such special waste liquid disposal company, waste liquids must be stored in a considerable broad space of a truster and it is extremely expensive in an aspect of cost.
Recently, photographic processing employing an automatic processor (so-called washless automatic processor) wherein stabilizing processing substituting for water washing is employed and no piping for supplying and draining washing water is needed around the automatic processor is becoming popular. For this processing, a processor wherein cooling water for controlling the temperature of processing solutions is eliminated is desired.
In such photographic processing wherein neither washing water nor cooling water is needed substantially, it has been possible to eliminate piping for supplying and draining liquids outside the processor, and thereby the drawbacks of a conventional automatic processor such as a large expense of construction work for piping, difficulty of movement of the processor after installation thereof, narrow space close to feet around the processor and an expense of energy for pressure for supplying warm water have been solved, providing an extremely great advantage that the processor can be made small and compact and further be simplified to the extent that it can be used as an office machine However, the waste liquids therefrom are extremely high in terms of a load for environmental pollution, and they are not allowed to be dumped into rivers and even into sewerages by regulations of environmental pollution because they are not diluted by water. Further, an amount of waste liquids discharged from such photographic processing (processing which does not require water washing done by a large amount of running water), though it may small, has reached an amount as high as 10 liters per day even in a relatively small photofinishing laboratory.
The waste liquids discharged from the photofinishing laboratory for color processing are usually collected by a waste liquid disposal company and are subjected to the secondary and tertiary treatment to be harmless. Due to a rise in collection expense, however, charge for collection of waste liquids rises year after year, and waste liquids can not be collected so frequently because of poor collection efficiency, resulting in a problem that the laboratory is filled with waste liquids.
Therefore, for easy disposal of waste liquids discharged from photographic processing at a small-sized photo-finishing laboratory, following two points are now being considered 1 to heat waste liquids so that the moisture may be evaporated and the waste liquids may be solidified (for example, Japanese Utility Model Published Application No.70841/1985 and 2 to use a heat-radiating unit and a heat-absorbing unit both of a heat pump circuit as a heating means for an evaporating vessel for evaporating and concentrating waste liquids and as a cooling means for a cooling vessel which cools, condenses and liquefies the vapor and to decompress the evaporating vessel and the cooling vessel with a decompressing means so that the liquids may boil under its normal boiling point, and to take out condensed liquids. Among the foregoing, 2 is more excellent than 1 on the point that it is possible to separate from condensate without generating hydrogen sulfide because of evaporation under reduced pressure.
However, even condensed liquids obtained by the above item 2 contains harmful substances such as, for example, ammonia, acetic acid and alcohol or the like, depending on the composition of processing solutions, and it has not been allowed to dump into rivers and others due to the problem of environmental pollution.